Across the Face of the World (53 page)

As the smoke from the pyre began to die away, Mahnum stood. 'Surely Leith should have been back before now?' he said, not caring to mask the worry in his voice. 'Perhaps we should organise a search.'

'Quiet!' hissed Perdu. 'I hear something in the trees!' The Company barely had time to stand before sword-wielding figures sprang silently from the forest eaves on all sides. The Bhrudwans! But there lay the bound form of their captive, and they reassured themselves they had not simply imagined their victory. All this took place in a moment. Their eyes then returned to those confronting them, and the old farmer relaxed somewhat as he realised that these marauders were Fodhram.

'Don't move!' one of the men called out. There were perhaps thirty of them, short in stature, clothed in forest green. They looked to the coastlanders like close cousins to the fur traders they had so recently befriended. In vain Kurr searched their faces for Leader, Scarface, Shabby or Taller.

'Send for the Warden,' came the order. One of the men, little more than a youth, dashed off into the woods.

The apparent leader of the Fodhram barked another order from the shadows. 'Disarm these intruders!' Stern men strode forward.

'We mean no harm,' Kurr began, arms outstretched with palms upward in a gesture of peace.

The men hesitated, then stopped.

'Let us pass,' the old farmer said. 'We are travellers on the Westway, afforded protection by treaty. We have urgent business, and have just fought—'

'Silence!' A serious-looking man, small even for a Fodhram, came forward and addressed Kurr. 'You are not Widuz, that is plain. Who are you, and why do you trespass on Fodhram land?'

Kurr was not impressed by the man's officiousness. 'I am accus¬tomed to more courtesy from the Fodhram,' he replied shortly.

'You are fortunate that I have chosen to speak at all! Raiders from Widuz have attacked, killing Fodhram and taking many captive, as has not happened in many a year. We are pursuing them and came to investigate the smoke from your fire. Now, quickly; we are in great haste. Why should we spare your lives?'

'We were given leave of this land by a Fodhram party whom we accompanied on the Southern Run,' Kurr stated tersely. 'Their true names are not known to us, of course, but they deposited many bales of furs at Vindstrop House. Surely someone here has knowledge of them?'

'You lie,' said the little man, red veins standing out in his neck. 'No one makes the Southern Run this early in the year. By your lies you are betrayed. Bind them!'

Three Fodhram, dressed in regulation garb, came forward with rope. The Company drew together, and Farr and Perdu went for their swords. In a blur of motion, steel was drawn around the clearing, and the Fodhram came menacingly closer. Kurr closed his eyes. To have bested the Bhrudwans, only to fall to the Fodhram. ..

'What is this?' came a voice from the trees. A familiar figure strode into the clearing, followed by another armed band of Fodhram.

'My friend!' Kurr cried, relief filling his voice. 'I would ask you another favour as companions along the way. Would you vouch for us?'

'Vouch for you?' laughed Leader as he came over to the old farmer and embraced him in the Fodhram greeting. 'Of course I will vouch for you!' He aimed a level gaze at the small man in charge of the first Fodhram band.

'It appears that I've arrived just in time to stop a war,' Leader exclaimed, and laughed heartily.

'You coastlanders were about to destroy one of our reserve divisions.'

The Fodhram leader turned to the commander of the division. 'I'll speak for these people.

They have the freedom of the wood. Perhaps you might consider applying your undoubted skills to tracking the Widuz raiders.' The members of the Fodhram divi-sion sheathed their swords, and shuffled off up the Westway after their embarrassed commander.

'Well, my friends,' Leader boomed expansively, 'you appear to have been busy since last we met! I see you have a new, if some¬what unwilling, member of your Company' - he nudged the captive Bhrudwan with his boot - 'and you have rescued your friends. Excellent!'

'But not without cost,' Kurr said, indicating the smouldering pyre-Leader bowed his head. 'I am sorry. But there is nothing more honourable than death in battle.' The habitual smile was absent now, replaced by a mixture of admiration and concern.

'You must tell me about the battle!' the small man exclaimed.

'Losing only two men against such fierce opponents! By guile you must have bested them, not by strength of arms. Would that I had been here to see it, to be part of it!' He frowned. 'We had planned to bring you aid. Evil men such as those must not roam unchecked in our lands, especially about such foul business. We aimed to apprehend these Bhrudwans ourselves, travelling faster than you were able by the use of paths known only to the Fodhram. But we were drawn away by a band of raiders from Widuz who attacked members of one of our villages as they worked their fields, killing some and taking others captive. Have you seen any other strangers in the wood since you left Vindstrop House?'

'Lost two?' Kurr said, still preoccupied with the first thing the Fodhram leader had said. 'We lost only one fighting man, valiant Wira from the hills of Vinkullen, who was slain while shielding us from a surprise attack. But the young boy, Leith, has gone missing. We think he is on the other side of the river. Have you seen any sign of him?'

Leader was about to reply when one of his fellows whispered something to him. The stout Fodhram nodded, dismissing the young man with a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

'One of my scouts tells me that no more than an hour or two ago he saw a small band of raiders somewhat to the south of here, nowhere near where we believe the main body of Widuz to be. I am sorry to say we could spare none of our men for a pursuit.'

'The timing is right, unfortunately,' Farr commented. 'How else can we explain his disappearance? He ought to have been back long before now.'

The Fodhram leader nodded soberly. 'We know the Widuz came as far north as Meall Gorm, the mountain you know as Steffi. The main group must have passed by to the east, somewhere between here and Vindstrop House, travelling swiftly despite the captives they have taken.'

He kicked at a loose stone on the path, a scowl on his laugh-lined features. 'Leith may have been taken by this second group, especially if they came south on this side of yonder stream.

But if there were two groups, perhaps there were still others, and more of our villages may have been attacked. We must press on: Fodhram have been taken captive, and my foolish compatriot has led us instead to you, who pose no threat at all. But such a chance has perhaps aided you in your search for your companion.'

'What are they saying?' Indrett asked. 'What has happened to Leith?' Mahnum put his arm around her, but his face was drawn.

'Who are these Widuz, and what do they want with captives?' Perdu asked.

'The Widuz are a barbarian race,' Leader said, with some feeling. 'They live in a land far to the south of here.'

'So why have they come north?'

'We don't know. But every now and then they raid our lands, stealing our crops and animals.'

'Your lands?' Mahnum said. 'They might dispute that! Of old they laid claim to all these lands, and dwelt here long before the First Men came.'

'But we live here now, and they have no right to attack us as they do. Are you excusing their behaviour?' The Fodhram leader looked askance at this new member of the Company, obviously until recently a captive of the Bhrudwans.

'Now is not the time for such a debate,' Mahnum replied care¬fully. 'If they have my son, my duty is to rescue him. I suggest we search the riverbanks for one hour, then set off after these raiders.'

'And abandon any thought of warning the Falthan council at Instruere?' Farr was incredulous.

'After we've come all this way?'

'Were you going to continue?' Perdu asked him. 'I thought you joined the Company to take revenge on your father's killers.'

'Two of my family have died because the Bhrudwans plan to invade Faltha,' Farr snapped back. 'I won't sit and wait for them to kill the rest of us!'

'Enough, enough!' Kurr groaned. 'What do we do now?' he said. 'If we wait any longer for Leith to turn up, only to find that he has been taken captive, he may be removed beyond our ability to give him aid. But we will not abandon our quest now. We must get to Instruere with all possible speed.'

'We cannot tarry while you make up your mind,' Leader said. 'We must track these Widuz and rescue our people. You don't know these wild men; undoubted harm awaits the captives at the end of their journey, if not before.'

'I'm coming with you,' Mahnum said. 'They have my boy; I'm sure of it.'

'As you wish,' Leader said. 'Another sword will be useful.'

'A sword I do not have,' Mahnum replied. 'But I know the Widuz. Have you been to Clovenhill?'

Leader shook his head.

'Perhaps you might find that a Trader can be of some use to you, then.' Beside him Indrett sighed deeply.

'A Trader!' Leader raised his eyebrows. 'A true Trader would be useful indeed, especially one who knows the unmapped paths of the Widuz.'

'Stay with the others,' Mahnum urged his wife. 'You don't have the strength for such a journey.'

'Neither do you,' she whispered back.

The hour passed quickly, too quickly, and still Leith had not been found. As the Fodhram prepared to leave, Mahnum and Indrett shared a tender embrace.

'Some day soon we shall all be together again,' he told her. 'Then everything will be as it was before.'

She buried her face in his hair. 'I'll never be as I was before,' she said, her eyes filling with tears.

'I'll see you in Instruere,' he promised.

Looking at Indrett his wife and Hal his son, he said to them: 'Take good care of each other.'

Then he turned and walked away.

Slung over someone's back like a sack of potatoes, Leith could see very little of what was happening around him. His captors trav¬elled swiftly through the forest, sometimes striding, sometimes jogging, and occasionally he was able to raise his head enough to see thickets of trees, bushes, moss and spring flowers jerk past him. For a while he had been in shock: one moment he was exhil¬arated, having slain the Bhrudwan warrior and won a great victory; the next he was picked up off his feet, roughly handled and taken away against his will. His struggling had served only to encourage his captor to grip him more firmly. He could not cry out, as his mouth was covered by cloth tightly wound around the lower half of his face.

Perhaps these people are Fodhram, Leith thought hope-fully. They might release me when they realise their mistake. But some¬thing told him that the merry Fodhram would not behave like this.

Without warning his captors halted and he was thrown to the ground with a sickening thud.

When finally he was able to raise his head, he saw that he was in a wide, mist-filled clearing, surrounded by fighters armed with spears and clubs. Beside him were other captives, pale-faced and scared men, women and chil¬dren, some bruised and bleeding. These captives are Fodhram! he realised with horror. Who, then, were his captors? As he watched, still more people were brought into the clearing, all gagged so they could not cry out. There must be more than a hundred people held here by these fighters!

Commands were barked in an unknown tongue, and the fighters moved amongst their captives. Some they made to stand, and hauled them off to one side until there were at least twenty of them, mostly young men. Just when he thought they had finished, one of them hauled Leith to his feet and shepherded him over to the others. He was nearly paralysed with fear. What were they going to do with him?

Their hands were bound together in front of them, then with ropes the captives were linked one to another, in two lines of a dozen or so. They were prodded with spears into a slow, shuffling trot, delayed only slightly when one of the boys in front of Leith fell to the ground.

Under the eaves of the trees they shuffled, leaving the other captives in the clearing, surrounded by spear-wielding men.

The late afternoon light was fading and fine, misty rain sifted down when the Fodhram departed. Mahnum took spare clothing from the Company, and the Fodhram found a broadsword for him. Farr looked on enviously as the Fodhram division formed up for the march south. Now Wira was gone, he longed to go with them. With a command from their leader, the Fodhram saluted the Company, wheeled around and set off into the forest at a swift march.

After they had gone, Kurr gathered the dazed members of the Company together and spoke earnestly to them.

'Today has been a day of heartache,' he said. 'We have achieved our task of rescuing Mahnum and Indrett of Loulea, and Parlevaag of the Fenni, but we have laid Wira to rest and Leith is lost. Now we have to consider what to do. Mahnum has chosen to search for his son, aided by the Fodhram. I believe we who remain must travel to Instruere and tell the Council of Faltha about the Bhrudwan invasion. It is time therefore to reform the Company. Who will come with me?'

Hal stood immediately. 'Our family was drawn into this in the beginning,' he said, 'and we will follow it through until the end. If we can be of any use, let us be part of the Company.'

'Wira's death will be meaningless unless we can prevent the Bhrudwan invasion,' Farr said. 'I must go to Instruere.'

'Of course you must come with us,' Kurr responded. The gruff old man was pleased; he had feared Farr might return to Mjolkbridge after the death of his brother.

Perdu stood, his face mirroring his indecision. 'I have fulfilled the command given me by my clan chief,' he said. 'I have seen the Bhrudwans die, and were it not for the need of the Company, I would demand that the remaining Bhrudwan be made to face Fenni justice. I ought to return to give my report, taking Parlevaag with me. And the gods know I long to see my family again!

'Yet I do not feel comfortable leaving the Company with its task only half complete. I have begun to suspect that there was a purpose in my becoming Fenni, that my joining the Company was no accident. I am undecided as to what to do.